CNN brings live video, citizen journalism to iPhone

CNN just released a new app that brings live news video from the cable news network to the iPhone 3G and the iPod Touch, while turning the 50 million owners of those best selling Apple devices into potential citizen video journalists.

CNN

CNN joins the likes of the New York Times, USA Today and National Public Radio that have news apps on what has become hot virtual real estate – mobile devices.

The $1.99 CNN Mobile app, available to U.S. users only at launch, calls up the latest news stories, in full or in bulleted highlights that CNN calls “snackers” so readers can scan the news quickly.

“For a breaking news organization, mobile is a cornerstone for our future, and we need to be there, we need to be in your pocket,” K.C. Estenson, CNN general manager and senior vice president said in an interview. “And I think consumers want the global power of CNN in their hand.”

But CNN is a video news organizaton, after all, so the app also delivers live streaming video and video clips on demand.

And in what’s supposed to be a first in a mobile device, the app connects directly to CNN’s iReport.com, the network’s two-year-old site that has received nearly a half-million photos and video sent by viewers of events from around the world, such as President Obama’s inauguration or election protests in Iran. This week, CNN has received “a ton of footage” from the storm-ravaged Philippines, Estenson said.

The new app is integrated with the iPhone 3G’s ability to shoot and edit video on the fly.

“We see this as being a key way for people to gather news,” he said.

CNN staff will still verify iReport.com video clips that are also used on the network.

For now, CNN has no plans to create a similar app for other mobile platforms like the BlackBerry or Google’s Android.

Another new news-related app could help those citizen journalists adhere to proper spellings and punctuation – the AP Stylebook app, the mobile version of the “journalists bible” from The Associated Press. However, the app costs $28.99, so it’s aimed at professional journalists.